


Age of Awakening

by Blanska



Series: Legend of the Smallest Army [1]
Category: Pentatonix
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 19:52:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8727988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blanska/pseuds/Blanska
Summary: I'm sure you have heard of the smallest army that ever existed, who conquered the world with only five people like it was the easiest thing to do. What you are about to hear is a mighty legend that everyone knows by heart and not only in the Land of Eagles. People tell their children majestic tales about these heroes; they admire their bravery, their epic adventures and heroic deeds. Little boys want to fight like them and little girls want to enchant the world as they have. But it's not just a story about great battles and glorious armies; it's about the rise of heroes, finding love, family and home. If you ever tell the tale to your children, tell it from the beginning, so they will know that anyone can become a hero.





	1. Meeting

There are many who hail from King's Nest and tell the tale of the Smallest Army with such pride in their voice, claiming them to be the city's protectors, their very own heroes. Yes, the Smallest Army have spent a lot of time in the capital city, their story however began in much humbler environment, in a long forgotten village named Laurel. We don't know much about this settlement for it is long gone, but we know for sure that a young lad used to live there with his family, and his name was Pellerin. They had to work hard for the little they had; they were poor, but they lived in peace for a long time. But one day, the peace was broken by a terrible firestorm. Not just any firestorm; a nobleman, called Lord Raban used to live in a castle not far from the village and he waged a war against his neighbors. He wanted to damage his rivals by burning their farmlands and this is how the peaceful village of Laurel had been destroyed forever. Lord Raban's men came at night, shut the gates, threw their torches on the rooftops and soon the entire village was on fire. The villagers that tried escape were cut down, but Pellerin had no choice but to follow his parents' directions and hide in the woods. He was young but already the tallest man in the village; he managed to climb the palisade and avoid the mercenaries.  
  
The next day, when the fires were finally out and the wind was sweeping through Laurel's ashes, Pellerin returned to search the ruins, and where once his home stood he found nothing but death. He felt measureless anger toward Lord Raban and not just because he had destroyed his life and his family, but because he couldn't have done anything to stop this catastrophe. There was only one person who could bring a lord to justice, the most powerful nobleman in the Land of Eagles, the king himself. Pellerin was so furious at the time that he immediately decided to travel to King's Nest and report this treachery to King Arvid. As he prepared to leave the smoking ruins behind, he saw something move under the rubble. As he walked closer he realized there was a girl trapped under the remnants of a house, so he hurried to help her out and managed to free her. The young woman's name was Fidelia and she told Pellerin that she was one of the travelling actors who had arrived to Laurel only a few days ago. They had sent her to the village to get some supplies, but the fire broke out before she could return to them and now they were all gone without a trace. She had been with this band of actors since she was a little girl, they were the only family she had, so she wanted to find them somehow. Pellerin suggested that they travel together to the capital, so they wouldn't be alone on their journey.  
  
The two travelers didn't get too far from Laurel when the forest began to turn extremely cold. It was like winter decided to come early this year and the air got colder with every step. Suddenly they heard an angelic voice from behind the trees, the most beautiful voice they had ever heard, singing the most sorrowful song in the world. The melody led them to a snowy clearing, where all the trees were frozen, their every leaf frosted and in the middle of this white meadow there was a beautiful young man singing his mournful song. Pellerin recognized him immediately, for he had seen him before in Laurel many years ago. The young man named Johan told them that he had to leave Laurel because everyone was mean to him and made fun of his voice. Pellerin and Fidelia didn't understand how anyone could ridicule Johan for he had such a magical voice. They begged him to stop singing before he froze the entire kingdom, so they started telling him jokes to cheer him up. As Johan smiled and began to laugh, the snow melted around them and the flowers of the meadow began to revive and bloom in a thousand colors. Pellerin told him his story and that he was on his way to the capital city to ask the king for justice, and Johan decided to accompany them.  
  
After a few weeks the three of them reached the capital, King's Nest. It was a huge city, bigger than anything they had ever seen. They knew King Arvid would never agree to see some commoners without an invitation, their only chance was a tourney held in the king's honor, for the winner would get to feast with the king and ask him for any favor. But they were no noblemen and no warriors, they didn't even know how to swing a sword. The leader of a mercenary group overheard them talking about the tourney, and he offered them his help for a great deal of gold. They had to refuse, for they barely had any money, but the mercenary told them he would lead his soldiers on their side if they could prove that they were strong and brave enough to win the tourney. He said if they went to a nearby cave, where according to legend an evil dragon lived, and retrieved one of the beast's claws they would prove themselves and win the mercenaries' favor. They had nothing better planned, so they agreed to do this quest, and searched for the dragon's cave.  
  
Eventually they found the place the mercenary had told them about, but they saw nothing there but a caved-in entrance. They had been searching for another way in for hours, but after a while they gave up and prepared to leave, when suddenly Fidelia told the others to be quiet. They were listening to the wind for a while, and then they heard a soft whisper coming from the old entrance. They moved closer, and heard that a man was trapped inside the cave and was begging them to free him somehow. Pellerin said it could be some kind of trick of the evil dragon and demanded explanation from the whispering man. The man told them that his name was Etele and he had lost a bet against his friends, so he had to spend ten minutes in the dragon's cave. He had been alone in the dark for some time when he had heard an alarming noise and shouted in his fright causing the rocks fall down and block the exit. As it turned out there was no dragon, only this trapped man, abandoned by his friends, so they cleared the rocks from the cave's mouth and freed Etele, who now owed them his life, so he offered his help in reaching King Arvid. He had heard tales of a man who had arrived from a distant land and lived in the king's library, studying its books for many years now. Some people claimed he was the wisest man in the realm and never left the castle, others said that it was just a rumor because no one had ever seen this mysterious man.  
  
They returned to King's Nest and talked to some people in the tavern, who told them various rumors about this man. Some said he was a scholar, others said he was a wizard, or a priest, and some also heard he was nothing but a charlatan. The only detail that all the stories agreed on was that he was called Levent and indeed lived in the king's library. The four companions decided to reach Levent somehow; if he really was the wisest man in the realm he could certainly find a way to help them. Fidelia dressed up as a servant of the castle, snuck into the kitchen and brought some food to the library, where she found a man surrounded by books, sleeping on a desk. She woke him up and asked if he could help her and her friends, but Levent was too enveloped in his sadness, because he had read all the books in the kingdom and hadn't found the truth in knowledge. There were no more books to read, no more art to learn. Fidelia told him about her companions, described the curious talents they had, and Levent found it interesting and asked her to tell him more. She admitted that Master Eurig, the leader of the actors she used to travel with, used her talents to rob people. They made her sing, the audience instantly fell asleep then the actors cut their purses and left them with nothing. These powers they possessed were entirely new to Levent, so he told Fidelia he wanted to meet these people and learn more about them.  
  
Levent talked to the four companions for a long time and each of them told him about their curious stories. At last Etele asked him in his whispering voice if he knew how to acquire a dragon's claw, but Levent told them no dragons lived near King's Nest for thousands of years. The tourney was on the next day, so they had no time for quests to distant lands, they had to decide what to do. Pellerin had no home to go back to, only a craving for justice. Fidelia didn't know where the traveling actors were, she didn't want to help thieves, but she had nowhere else to go. Johan didn't have anyone who liked him as he was, he ran away from every place until he joined Pellerin's company. Etele had been abandoned by his friends and didn't want to go back to them, because real friends would have been loyal. To Levent all the world's libraries were empty, he knew every science, every art, but still he wanted to learn something new. That is how they decided to enter the King's Tourney, for they had no home to return to. There were only five of them against twenty or thirty soldiers on the side of each nobleman. They had no weapons, only hope in their hearts.  



	2. Learning

Noblemen and their soldiers, rich merchants and their mercenaries, many groups took part in the King's Tourney. All were highly trained in the arts of war, had strong arms and mighty weapons, except for one group; the five unarmed commoners, ready to die in the first round. Though Levent had a beautiful crossbow, he refused to use it since his companions had no weapons to fight with. They were thrown into the huge arena, where the first parts of the tourney took place, and the audience was just laughing and shouting cruel jokes at the small, hopeless team. Their opponent entered the field; Lord Vilbald had twenty-five soldiers in his party, they were all snickering as they eyed their young foes. They slowly encircled them, unsheathing their weapons. The five were in a small circle facing the enemy, and they were trembling in the sight of death. 

One of the soldiers decided he had enough of playing nice, and wanted to end this round quickly. He stepped closer to Pellerin and lifted his sword to hit him with its grip, but he got a paw and sharp claws to the face in return. The soldiers were in shock as they saw that where a young man stood moment ago, now a great lion was roaring at them furiously. Eight of them were taking up positions to fight the animal, but the rest were approaching the remaining members. One man grabbed Johan's arm who cried out in fright. Flames appeared with every shout that came from his mouth, which obviously scared the soldiers, but they refused to back off. Johan was begging Fidelia to sing and put everyone to sleep, but her voice was shaking with fear and the song didn't seem to work. A warrior grabbed her arm and wanted to strike her, and in that moment Etele let out a powerful shout that shook the ground and everyone lost their balance in the arena. As the soldiers got back on their feet, they fled the field, because they had no desire to battle such powers. Only Lord Vilbald remained, still shouting commands, ordering his men to attack, but they had all abandoned him. Levent stepped forward and started to imitate the sound of bees. It was a trick he had mastered long ago, and as the noise became stronger, bees appeared from nowhere and surrounded Lord Vilbald who ran out of the arena. 

That is how Pellerin and his companions survived the first round of the tourney and raised fear in the hearts of everyone who saw their great power. But the audience was displeased, they were yelling curses at them out of fear, calling the winning team a company of monsters and demons. It was likely that the king would rule them out of the competition for using some kind of foul sorcery, but King Arvid wanted entertainment, and decided to let them continue the tourney. After they had left the arena, a knight named Ser Tallak walked up to Pellerin and his company, and offered his help in the coming rounds. He could not join the group, and didn't want to either. He said he wanted to support them and show the nobles that the unusual doesn't mean weak or evil, that they were powerful in their own way. Our small army liked the way the knight was thinking and gladly accepted his help.

In the second round, they were alone in the arena, and instead of warriors, they had to defeat time, and complete a whole lot of tasks. First, the team had to send their riders, to throw spears at targets from horseback, then foot soldiers had to wound an army of straw dummies, and they also needed their archers to hit several targets. Finally, the team had to signal that they were finished by seizing a flag, which could only be reached from the top of a shield wall. Pellerin and his friends had no horses, no bows and no shields, but they had a plan how to complete the round in a record time, although they risked exclusion with their not quite traditional methods. 

When the squire gave the sign to begin the game, every member started running to different sections of the arena. Pellerin turned into a bull, and started to hit the targets with his horns instead of spears. Fidelia and Etele raced to the dummies and began cutting them with knives given to them by Ser Tallak. Johan and Levent ran to the archery field and shot the targets with the crossbow or shards of ice. Fidelia and Etele were the first to finish and they immediately went for the flag. Fidelia was supposed to stand under the flag, while Etele raised the ground under her feet until it was close enough for her to reach it. But as soon as the ground started moving, Johan who was still busy with his archery, got distracted by the sound and a shard of ice darted off only inches away from Levent's face. Johan kept apologizing while Levent shot the remaining targets then waved to Fidelia to let her know she could take the flag. They did finish in a very short time, but their curious ways of completing the round were not amusing enough to King Arvid, who gave them one last chance to earn his grace.

The third round was coming, in which they had to face a company of mercenaries and get hold of something their opponents were guarding and protect another object from them at the same time. They had it all planned out and Fidelia was the essential piece of their tactics. She was supposed to put the mercenaries into a slumber while the boys tried to retrieve the target. But a few minutes before the game began Fidelia was still missing and only when they entered the field they were informed that she was the one they needed to rescue. They also had a mercenary they needed to defend, but their plan couldn't work without Fidelia. They had to choose another tactic and they had no more time to prepare, they were only able to decide who was going to attack and defend. 

As soon as the game began, Pellerin and Johan started to approach the other group very slowly, trying to avoid the ones that were coming to attack them. The rest stayed with the bound warrior, but they needed to do something to make their position more defendable. So, Levent created an illusion of a tall and massive wall around their prisoner, and Etele's voice immediately turned it into stone and with that into reality. Pellerin and Johan were almost at the defenders and Johan conjured a circle of flames around them while Pellerin turned into a lion. He charged, jumping through the flames which got stuck on his legs and in his hair, and got under his skin. A lion with a body of fire he became and scattered the defense of the mercenaries who were fleeing from him in terror. Johan freed Fidelia and began running back with her to their own defenders, Pellerin joined them too, but Fidelia stopped in the middle of the arena, turned around and with a piercing cry she knocked out all their pursuers.

The third round was over in a remarkably short time, and the public was watching in complete silence. At the end some of them even started to clap or cheer, because it was so amazing to see how smoothly the small team worked together. Pellerin and his company experienced something very new that day. When they were together, being themselves, everything went so easily even they had a hard time believing what they had achieved. They found a new voice in each other, heard a new side of themselves, and wanted to keep marching, because there was a secret power in them that made them want to go on and never stop.


	3. Knowing

In the fourth round the remaining groups left the arena, and faced something new and terrible. This round was about defeating a beast, and Lord Raban, the same lord who had destroyed Laurel, had generously offered the king his Pit of Monsters as the new location. Lord Raban was a wealthy man and he liked to entertain his honored guests by watching various creatures fight in the Pit. But now a bloodthirsty, unmerciful beast was in the place of dueling warriors or animals. The monster was called taksh, which meant 'cruel' in a barbarian language. It had six legs, five huge claws on each, its head looked like a scaled wolf's face with sharp fangs in its mouth. It was black as the night sky and furious at the world, it attacked everything in sight for it knew it could defeat any kind of animal.   
  
The smallest team of the tourney was thrown into the Pit, five young people facing the savage beast. Pellerin could already feel the heat of the coming battle and the hatred for Lord Raban boiling inside his body. He put his hands to the ground and slowly took a shape similar to the taksh in front of him. Levent created a vision of this new form, only larger than any animal you have ever seen. Etele and Johan gave it a body made of rock and ice, and at this point they needed Fidelia more than ever. The creature's rage was terrible and it tore the ground open with each horrible step. It roared at the sky, letting every living thing with ears know that it was here and it was invincible. The taksh had no chance, the rock and ice titan crushed it with several blows, each strike making the Pit shake. The small team was raging, showing the world they are not that small at all, and that they can vanquish anything if they want to. Fidelia had to make sure they didn't lose control, she had to keep the creature from destroying the Pit with her will. She did a great job, everyone turned back to their old selves, but the lords and warriors were in dread of the powerful wizards once again. It was meant to be a message to Lord Raban, who had no way of knowing who Pellerin was or that he wanted to avenge the destruction of his home.  
  
In the fifth game two teams had to solve one task, and whoever would succeed sooner, advanced to the next round. The Smallest Army and their rivals, a group of seasoned warriors from the northern kingdom Skógr, were standing next to a large, ancient castle. A cunning witch lived inside it who was responsible for many dark deeds in the kingdom, but the king's men could never catch her for she always returned to the safety of her fortress. The goal was to capture the witch and bring her to King Arvid alive or dead. There was however only one way into the fort; a long and narrow bridge above an enormous chasm.   
  
Fidelia, Etele and Levent raced toward the bridge; it was necessary to reach it before any of their opponents. While Etele and Levent stayed to defend the bridge, Fidelia continued running toward the castle. In the meantime Pellerin and Johan walked to the edge of the chasm and turned into a fiery bird. The bird flew in the dark grey sky like a flaming, red arrow and it flew straight to the top of the tallest tower. Once they were in the witch's room, they turned back into their human forms, and before the witch could even say a word, Johan trapped her legs and arms in blocks of ice. " _I have heard what powerful wizards you are._ " said the witch and started to ask them questions about how they had acquired their powers. She theorized that they had gotten their unfamiliar abilities from a deal with a demon or had learnt them in the far eastern deserts of Shraashna. She tried to convince them to tell her their secrets, but Pellerin told her to stop for there were no secrets to tell. " _We were born to be what we are."_ When Fidelia finally reached the tower, she was exhausted but still managed to control the witch with her singing. They walked out of the castle with the evil sorceress on their side, who followed her captors helplessly. Most of the northerners didn't dare to attack the small group now that they had been reunited, there were but one or two reckless enough to charge, who soon found themselves at the bottom of the chasm.  
  
Before the sixth quest, Ser Tallak invited the five-man army to his home where he introduced them to Lady Izar. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant who had been lost in the very place Pellerin and his company were headed. Einar's Watse they called it, for King Einar had lost a battle there a very long time ago. He had been betrayed by his own men, therefore his army had split into two factions, engaged in battle and slaughtered each other to the last man. The battlefield turned into cursed a wasteland, nothing grew there anymore and the legend said the two armies' ghosts appeared and fought each other every single night, and kidnapped those who had doubt in their hearts. The task of the tourney was to cross Einar's Waste and survive. Lady Izar told Pellerin and his companions that she had lost her family there, and if they could look for anything of her father's she would be eternally grateful. She provided them with plenty of food and water, also firewood and torches. They told her that with Johan in their company they didn't need any wood to light a fire, but accepted it anyway.  
  
At dusk three teams entered Einar's Waste, which was more terrible than they imagined; it was bleak, empty and quiet as a graveyard. The sky became darker and the air colder with every minute. The small team walked for an hour then they had to stop because they couldn't see anything in the blackness. They were freezing too, so they decided to light a fire, but something happened that was more frightening than the thought of a ghostly army. Johan seemed to have lost his power and couldn't conjure flames anymore, even though he was doing his best. The firewood Lady Izar gave them proved to be very useful after all. A few minutes later they were all sitting around the fire, silently, listening to distant howls and noises. Etele saw the fear in his friends' eyes and started singing a song he had learnt when he was just a child. They ended up singing all the songs they knew, loudly, bravely because for the first time they had no more magic about them, only the sort that ordinary songs have. And this kind of magic made them forget all their fears and also caught the attention of a ghost. This ghost was Lady Izar's father who gave them a satchel woven from golden strings and begged them to take it to his daughter. The young heroes did not know the way out, but the ghost helped them and led them on safe paths to the other end of the waste.   
  
When they returned from their journey they gave the satchel to Lady Izar who found her father's paint and brush inside it, and then she promised to help them win the tourney in any way she could. The Smallest Army accepted the offer and were ready for any challenge waiting for them in the King's Tourney. They knew as long as they were together they could overcome anything.


	4. Fighting

Only one group survived the last round of the King's Tourney; the five young heroes were brought before the king and given the final task. King Arvid declared that the only way to win the tourney and earn the right to attend the feast and ask him to grant their wishes was to complete a very dangerous mission. Everyone in the kingdom was certain this task was impossible; the Smallest Army had to find and defeat a powerful necromancer named Qadir Prabhu, the most evil and most unholy man that ever lived. Prabhu had claimed the Eagle Crown, taken it back to his hideout in the middle of the Frenzied Sea, where no ship could reach him. King Arvid gave a strong ship to Pellerin and his companions, their allies, Ser Tallak and Lady Izar helped them prepare for the long journey. The ship set sail and the king gave his blessing although he did not expect to see any of them again.  
  
The Smallest Army sailed on the Frenzied Sea for days when they reached a dangerous area, a labyrinth of cliffs. They were navigating very carefully, but as they advanced, more and more shipwrecks appeared in the water and the wind was getting stronger. A few minutes later it became too hard to keep the ship from hitting the rocks, Pellerin wanted Etele to clear their way of cliffs and wrecks. Suddenly a huge squall hit the small army as an enormous white bird flew by above them. Every time it moved its wings the wind rose again pushing the ship to the rocks. "Let's fight it!" shouted Pellerin, but Levent begged him not to hurt the tuulind for it was a sacred animal in Lalekara, the land where he grew up. Johan froze the water to protect the ship from the wind-storm, then Pellerin formed the shape of the giant bird and took Levent and Fidelia with him to the sky. The tuulind turned around, watching the other bird with its sharp, blue eyes. They circled around each other for a while, then the tuulind had enough and tried to charge, but Fidelia calmed it with her singing. Levent created a picture of the tuulind in human form, and with the help of Pellerin both birds turned into human beings. The tuulind was a bird no more but a beautiful proud woman, white as fresh snow, with fierce blue eyes. Levent fell to his knees and asked her what she was doing so far from her homeland. The woman told them the tale of how she had come to this land only to be trapped in the Frenzied Sea by the very man the Smallest Army had been sent to defeat. When she heard their story she let them go, hoping they would succeed for she wished to see her home once again. They said their goodbyes and turned her back to her original form, and when she was far enough, Johan melted the ice and let the ship sail.  
  
Two weeks had passed, all five of the young heroes were exhausted and there was still no sign of Qadir Prabhu. They were running low on food, not on water since Johan could make shards of ice appear then melt, but some of them started to wonder if they would ever find the necromancer or a way back to the kingdom. Suddenly they heard a soft melody in the distance. It was sweet and beautiful and after a few minutes they spotted the island it was coming from. The song got louder and more pleasant as they were making their way to this curious isle. When they reached the shore, strange people stepped out of the shadows of palm trees. They were neither male nor female, but they were equally beautiful. Levent warned his friends to be careful for he had read many horrific tales about monsters called hianga, that seduced their victims, made people fall in love with them regardless of gender, and that no one could ever resist their magic. But they decided to stay for a while, ask them for direction and supplies. Their gorgeous hosts offered their guests exotic fruits and honey, with roasted meat and sweet cakes then gave them sweet red wine to accompany it. They healed their wounds and sang songs to help them rest. The Smallest Army lay in the warm sand, bathing in the cool waterfalls and tasting the most delicious food they had ever had for three days. On the third day Pellerin gathered his things and told the others to prepare for leaving. The hiangas were in shock, they couldn't believe their eyes as their five guests were starting to leave the island. " _You can't leave_ " they said " _You should be in love with us!_ " But the young heroes agreed that they love each other more than anyone in the world. The hiangas begged them not to leave, to stay for a few more days " _We love you with all our hearts_ " they shouted, but it did not work. In the end they brought food, armor and maps to the five heroes, and they all stood on the shore, weeping loudly as the Smallest Army waved goodbye to them.  
  
With the help of the maps that the hiangas gave them, our young heroes seemed to finally find the place they were looking for. Sharp black rocks appeared in the thick fog, reaching for the sky around one tall hill in the middle of the sea. There were no trees, nor birds on this island, just cold, dark rocks everywhere. Pellerin and his companions got off the ship and as soon as they landed, it immediately turned into black oil and disappeared into the water. They had no way off the island, but they didn't plan to leave until they had dealt with Qadir Prabhu. Soon they found and entered a cave, and inside they walked into a huge hall with walls made out of skulls and bones. Suddenly, surrounded by black smoke the necromancer appeared. " _You surely have a death wish since you come here so willingly._ " said the sorcerer, with disgust on his pale face. The five travelers slowly surrounded the man, Pellerin demanding the crown to be returned, but Prabhu refused with a disdainful laugh. Five people attacked from five directions, but nothing seemed to harm the necromancer. He saw it all coming and he easily warded off every spell. All of a sudden ghosts flew out of the walls and closed in on each member of the company. Slowly they raised the granite floor and built coffins around their victims; Fidelia and Johan first, Levent and Etele the Pellerin at last. They were all trapped in a large circle around their enemy. Pellerin couldn't move, but he could see the granite cages where his friends used to be. His prison got darker then with a final move the coffin completely closed around him. He was in the darkness with too little and too poisonous air, he heard nothing accept for a faint snickering near his coffin. Fiery anger was rising in his heart that he had never known before. All he could see in the blackness was the faces of his four friends and he refused to give up on them. The hall was perfectly silent. The only sound was the soft steps of Qadir Prabhu as he walked around the granite pods. Suddenly there was a small crack. The necromancer was listening tensely, and then there it was again. Crack, crack, crack. Granite was falling to the ground as the coffins were slowly falling apart. The five heroes broke free at once and ran to the center of the room, where Prabhu was standing. Their first instinct was to find each other, even if the enemy was in their way. They held each other's hands, trapping the necromancer in the middle of this circle. He wanted to break it up but he'd lost all his magical powers and with a single ray of blinding light Qadir Prabhu was turned into a granite statue.  
  
The Smallest Army easily found the Eagle Crown and were ready to return to King Arvid. Unfortunately their ship was still floating in the form of an oil blob somewhere at sea. They were all exhausted, sitting on the rocky shore, resting on each other's shoulders and thinking about a way to get back home, when suddenly a strong wind began to blow and the tuulind reappeared in the sky. She landed on the island and offered to take them back to the Land of Eagles in gratitude for her freedom. When they were finally home, the king gave them everything they needed and ordered his servants to prepare a feast so rich that no kingdom had ever seen. The five commoners became honored heroes of the kingdom and a beautiful painting of them - made by the lovely Lady Izar - was hung in the great hall of the king's castle. As they were having the feast, King Arvid stood up and asked the young heroes to name the prize they deem worthy for their service. They were thinking in silence for a while then Pellerin responded " _All we ask for is that we may never have to leave each other._ " Arvid smiled and replied " _So shall it be._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked the story, read the next part too:   
> Age of Tyrants  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/8748001/chapters/20053885


End file.
